1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a contact member that electrically connects to-be-connected objects to each other, and a connector including the contact member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been proposed a connector comprised of contact members and a frame (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2006-310140 (Paragraphs 0022 to 0025 and 0039 to 0041, and FIGS. 1 and 7)).
Each contact member includes an elastic body, a film, and a plurality of conductor portions.
The elastic body is substantially long plate-shaped, and includes a holding surface which holds the film, a lower surface which is parallel to the holding surface, and curved surfaces extending between the holding surface and the basic surface. The cross-section of the elastic body is substantially D-shaped.
The film is affixed to the elastic body in a manner covering the holding surface and the curved-faces thereof.
Each of the conductor portions is a substantially belt-shaped metal thin film. The conductor portions extend in the direction of width of the elastic body (in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the direction of thickness of the elastic body), and are formed on the surface of the film at equally-spaced intervals along the longitudinal direction of the elastic body.
The frame is formed with holding holes. The contact members are inserted into the holding holes, respectively, and an intermediate portion of each contact member in the direction of width thereof is held by the frame.
When in use, the connector is sandwiched between two to-be-connected objects. At this time, the elastic body is elastically deformed, and the conductor portions are pressed against terminal portions of the to-be-connected objects by the restoring force of the elastic body for restoring the original shape, whereby the two to-be-connected objects are electrically connected via the conductor portions.
However, the conductor portions of the contact member are brought into surface contact with the terminal portions of the to-be-connected objects, and hence if an environment in which the connector is used is bad (for example, if dust falls, or if terminal portions of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a to-be-connected object are stained with silicone oil applied thereto for improvement of heat dissipation effects), silicone oil or dust is liable to be held between the conductor portions and the terminal portions, which can cause contact failure.